Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 4 : After scripting a memorable tale of success in Tata Steel Masters 2025 in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa received a warm welcome in Chennai.
In a dramatic final, Praggnanandhaa clinched the prestigious title by securing a thrilling title victory by handing D Gukesh his first defeat as World Champion. The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) officials welcomed Praggnanandhaa at the Chennai airport.
Praggnanandhaa reflected on his journey to a famous title win. He admitted that his competitors' and compatriots recent success inspired him to work harder and play better.
"I didn't have a great end to 2024. So I worked hard for it (the tournament). I am happy to have such a great start to this year. Gukesh also played well. It was an exciting tiebreaker. Results from other Indian chess players like Gukesh winning the world championship or Arjun Erigaisi crossing 2800 (Elo rating in classical chess) inspired me to work harder. Another reason was that I wasn't happy with my game. I wanted to play better. So I kept practising," Praggnanandhaa told reporters.
He vowed to keep giving his best in the future tournaments that are ahead of him and told ANI, "I want to give my best in every tournament. I will take the confidence from this tournament. We (him and Gukesh) spoke very little about the games."
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa suffered surprise losses into Round 13, which resulted in the duo finishing the classical portion tied for first place, setting up a tense tiebreak battle. After losing the first round of the tiebreaker, he displayed composure under pressure to overcome the deficit in the next two rounds to seal a memorable 2-1 win.
Praggnanandhaa's sister and Chess Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu commended her brother for the hard work that he put in for the tournament and told ANI, "He worked hard for this tournament. The last few months didn't go well for him, so I am happy with his victory. He deserves this victory. This will motivate him to get better and work harder. We discuss the game a lot."
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